Japanese Grand Prix of 2023 ended with a celebration for Red Bull and McLaren as one secured the title of the Constructors Championship winner and the other gained a double podium. While Max Verstappen won the race brilliantly like it was just a piece of cake, teammate Sergio Perez had to struggle throughout the race. The latter faced a DNF and had to let go of his pursuit of securing a podium at the end of the race.
The podium winners, Verstappen along with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri gathered at the cooldown room post the race after an intense battle. It was at that moment, that Norris’ reaction caught the attention of the viewers as they watched Perez crashing into Kevin Magnussen of Haas. In a single race, the Mexican driver was involved in two distinct incidents resulting in a total of four penalty points.
“interesting…”
their reaction to checo hitting the haas got me 💀💀pic.twitter.com/3ATF1p4G4L
— clara (@leclercsletters) September 24, 2023
His initial penalty came as a result of a failed attempt to pass Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso when the Safety Car was set up as he was making his way to the pitstop. He earned his initial five-second time penalty for this action. But Perez’s problems didn’t end there as he was involved in yet another terrible incident with Magnussen and the stewards rightfully blamed him for it. The lack of consistency in the driver led to a poor race in Japan.
Max Verstappen admits disliking podcasts post-Japanese Grand Prix
Inside the cooldown room, Max Verstappen found himself amidst playful teasing by the two McLaren drivers. Following the Singapore failure, a number of memes started to spread online, humorously implying that Verstappen’s personal podcast had evolved from the cooldown room conversations. Even the Red Bull team got in on the jokes, complaining about how the Singapore “episode” had been postponed.
Lando Norris: “I’m on the Max Verstappen podcast”
Oscar Piastri: “New addition”
Max Verstappen: “I don’t even like podcasts” pic.twitter.com/CidEtFkOx9
— F1 TROLL (@f1trollofficial) September 24, 2023
However, the Japanese Grand Prix marked a swift return to form for the Dutchman as he secured a commanding victory. He did what he promised right after the race at Marina Bay. Nevertheless, Verstappen found himself in the middle of the commotion inside the cooldown area as Norris made fun of him for having “two McLaren drivers” on Max’s podcast, a playful reference to their friendly rivalry.
Max quickly responded to this with an ironic remark: “I don’t even like podcasts!” It is an interesting comment as Lando Norris’ podcast is one of the most popular ones among all the drivers who have a good social media presence. Regardless, that is something that can be overlooked when it comes to Max Verstappen’s performance on the track.
